Discography of Life
by Random Useless Info
Summary: Kyouka Jirou was never the smartest, the most popular, or the most attractive girl around. But that never stopped her from aiming high. She never expected to find romance, especially not with a "reckless numbskull" wanting to be a hero. This is the story how she fell in love. Fell in love with the number one hero. Disclaimer: Yea, nope. Don't own BNHA. Oh, and this IS a slow burn..
1. Prelude

Prelude

* * *

"Kyouka~! Wake up, sweetie! Time for breakfast!"

Fourteen-year-old Kyouka Jirou roused from her slumber, awakened by the sound of her mother's voice from downstairs. Sitting up with a groan, she rubbed the remnants of sleep from her eyes and stretched her arms upwards. Crawling out of bed, she stretched her legs out some before standing to prepare for the day. As she ambled toward the bathroom to freshen up, however, her foot caught on a cord that she had left strewn across the floor. Unable to catch herself, a stack of CD cases did instead, forcing the girl to her knees with a thud and a series of crashes as the cases tumbled to the floor beside her.

Shaking rubbing her head some as she willed away the dizziness from her fall, a call from her father grabbed her attention.

"Kyouka! Are you swan-diving off of your bed again?" Scowling slightly at his jab to her pride, she yelled out a retort.

"Oh can it, old man! I haven't done that since I was five!"

"Don't be like that, Kyo! I've got video of you doing it when you were eight!"

As she began to stack her CD cases back up where they belonged, she looked around her room with a sigh. Instruments sat in stands in the corner beside her bed while various records, CD cases, and magazines lay haphazardly on and around her bookshelf.

Padding down to the dining room, she spotted her father seated at the kitchen counter, watching the morning news story.

While she didn't typically pay it much heed, Kyouka had noticed the story that was being covered this morning involved a boy who appeared to be her age. Seating herself next to her old man, she watched the short clip being played over the reporters' commentary on the terrorizing of a local city district the night prior.

"'Reports say that this villain, whose quirk has been labeled as a Mutation-class quirk, had eluded police custody via the local sewers, hiding there until striking against the public last evening. Taking a teenage boy hostage, he vandalized and set ablaze the entire Eisley Avenue Market before a young man whose identity has remained anonymous rushed in, attempting to free the boy who had been encased in the villain's sludge.'"

At this point, the clip from the attack had started playing again and Kyouka watched it in its entirety. It showed a short piece focused on the villain and hostage, then turned and zoomed in on the boy who charged in. Reckless as it was, Kyouka couldn't help but see how _plain_ the boy looked. Considering everything she saw of him in the short clip, the only 'unique' thing that she noticed about him was his green hair. Everything else that she had seen pointed to this reckless numbskull of a boy being the plainest person she had ever seen.

"'Upon this action, the Symbol Of Peace hurried in, stopping the villain's attacks and detaining him, freeing the boy and allowing local law enforcement and fire departments to close of the street. Shortly after, the fire had been put out. Until further investigation has been done, Eisley Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets has been blocked off from local traffic, barring law enforcement...'"

Kyouka huffed, shaking her head as she averted her gaze from the television to the plate her mother had just sat in front of her.

"Y'know, i feel like reckless numbskulls like that are the reason why there's so many Pro Hero Laws in effect... Rushing in like that..."

"You do realize, Kyo, that some might say that's the sign of a true hero." Kyotoku spoke up beside her as he drank his coffee.

Pondering her father's statement for a moment while she ate some of her mother's homemade omelette, she decided to speak her rebuttal afterwards.

"True hero? Sure, but a lot of good it'll do him when he's dead before he can even get certified as a hero. Besides, he didn't even try to use his Quirk. That's just pure recklessness."

Letting out a chuckle, Kyotoku slapped his daughter on the shoulder a few times.

"Don't worry. You'll learn to appreciate that aspect of people later in life."

As Mika sat down across from her daughter and husband, she interjected a question of her own, her tea steaming from the cup in her hands.

"Speaking of heroes, Kyouka dear, are you still wanting to try the entrance exam for U.A.?"


	2. Who Are You

Who Are You?

* * *

"Okay, Kyouka... You've got this."

After taking a deep breath, Kyouka looked up from the sidewalk to stand in admiration of "the barrier" before which she currently stood; U.A. High School. She began scanning her eyes up and down the school's main building, eyes widening in amazement and anxiety at the prospect of attending classes here. Another deep breath inhaled, and she began to walk up the path to the doors, looking around at the other teenagers in the same situation as she, when she came across a head of green.

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, she began to steer herself toward the previously-headlining young man when she noticed him trip over seemingly nothing. As the boy began a nearly comedic flail, Kyouka had to stifle a laugh as she reached out, grasping his arm to steady the boy before he landed face-first on the brick path toward the school.

"Still jumping through hoops to injure yourself, huh? Pretty sure tying your shoelaces is a prerequisite for the exam." In the back of her mind, Kyouka couldn't help but give herself a little high-five at her snarky remark to the boy's near misfortune. As she removed her hand from his arm, the only response he could give was a wide-eyed look of pure confusion.

 _'Way to go, dummy. This guy doesn't know who you are. You've never met!'_ Berating herself mentally, Kyouka continued, hoping to clear up the boy's confusion.

"I saw you on the news a few months back. When you charged at that slime villain? You're kinda an idiot, aren't you?" Another mental high-five, another look of confusion. The boy was so confused, the only facial expression he could manage was opening and closing his mouth. Realizing the boy looked reminiscent of a fish, a snicker escaped from her lips as she shook her head, turning away.

"Whatever, dude. Just know that if ya keep storming into situations like that, you'll end up getting yourself killed before you can even become a full-fledged hero." Shoving her hands into her pockets, she strolled off into the building. As the door closed, she heard the boy finally speak.

"W-who...?"

Listening to Present Mic drone on about the written portion of the exam, Kyouka let her mind wander some while she twirled a jack in her fingers. As she lost focus on what Present Mic was saying, almost immediately a semi-familiar voice caught her attention. A low-pitched, high-speed flurry of mutters was coming from a few rows behind her. Tilting her head back some, she caught sight of a messy head of green, confirming her suspicion.

'That guy sure is making a name for himself already...'

Turning to the larger teen to her left, she bumped him with her elbow.

"Ey. Glasses. Whattaya think of mutternutter three rows back?"

"What are you talking about?" Not moving his head, the glasses-wearing teen's gave his sharp response. So sharp, even, that it was enough to make Kyouka wince a small bit before responding.

"There's a guy a few rows back who's been muttering under his breath for the last five minutes."

Snapping his head to face her, the sharp teen glared at her, his gaze from behind his glasses a steely blue.

"Where? He should be paying his full attention to the presentation at hand."

Pointing back in the general direction of the muttering boy, Kyouka bit back a smirk as this steely-eyed peer of hers rose his hand in a manner that she couldn't help but recognize as being similar to that of a long-dead dictator from many years prior.

"Present Mic, sir!"

Halting his speech on the beginnings of the practical exam, the vocal-themed hero/teacher called out to him, pointing a long finger in their general direction.

"Hey yea?! What's goin' on up there?!"

"You just stated that there are three types of villains we are to be fighting, yet the handout clearly states there are FOUR types of villains! Please tell me this was not an error, as such would be greatly embarrassing, I believe!"

As the guy stated his question, the Earphone Jack user looked up at him bewildered. She had been paying attention to what was being said, but that didn't help with clearing up the question he posed.

"Also!" Dropping the handout he was holding and swung his arm around, pointing back at the 'mutternutter'. "You've been muttering to yourself for the past five minutes! Stop it! It's distracting, and I'm sure there are many others around you that would say the same thing!"

As she turned to watch his reaction, Kyouka felt a slight pang of guilt zip down her spine as she saw the boy freeze up as the nearby student candidates all turned to glare at him.

'Dang.. I just wanted to tease the guy a lil more... Didn't mean to do anything like that... I just hope I didn't throw him off his game or anything...'


	3. Jump

Jump

* * *

'Seriously? What the hell?! Info on the practical, then go ahead and jump right into the written exam after? How does that make any sense? Who does that?! _'_ Kyouka was aggravated. She'd heard that UA was rather unorthodox, but this was ridiculous. How did this place even became the top hero school in the first place?

Luckily, her mom had some insight into things and had given her some warning.

 _ _"Speaking of heroes, Kyouka dear, are you still wanting to try the entrance exam for U.A.?" Her mother's question pulled her from the conversation she'd been having with her father regarding the news that morning causing Kyouka to turn to her where she had just seated herself at the kitchen table. "Yeah, I am, mom. Why do ya ask?" Lacing her hands on the table, Mika leaned in some. "Well, dear. U.A., while it is a very prestigious hero school, does have some...__ unique __practices with its schooling techniques. So, I just want you to be aware of that and to do your best not to let it get to you. Don't let their odd mannerisms throw you off beat, okay?" With a bright smile, Kyouka nodded in affirmation. "You got it, mom!"__

"Rockers and Rockettes! In your places! You've got five minutes til show time!"

Upon hearing The Voice Of U.A.'s announcement, she began looking herself over, just to make sure her costume was in order. Looking to her wrists, she found the bands that each held six darts on each wrist, recalling with a smile as to why she had them at all.

 _Months had passed since the incident of the sludge villain had made local news. Kyouka now sat at the kitchen counter, munching quietly on her morning bowl of cereal, when her mother took the seat next to her._

 _"Happy birthday, my little muse." she spoke up, placing her mug on the counter._

 _"Thanks, mom." Finishing up her cereal, Kyouka took her bowl and placed it in the sink to be washed, retaking her seat to finish her orange juice. "What's the plan for today?"_

 _"Well, I wanted to talk to you, darling. About U.A.." Turning to face her mother fully, Kyouka met her gaze, a curious look in her eyes. "I'm still not entirely sure about you doing this. I simply don't understand why you don't try to get into a school more focused on more... practical, approaches to adulthood..."_

 _"Mom, I -"_

 _"Ah ah ah, dear. I'm not finished. Even though i'm sold on you trying to become a hero, I won't stop you from doing so. Hence, what your gift is this year." Reaching across the counter, Mika pulled something from behind the toaster. Placing it in front of her daughter, she revealed it to be a small box, complete with a yellow ribbon tied into a bow._

 _ _Narrowing her eyes at the box, Kyouka took the box up in her hands, gingerly pulling the ribbon off of it before opening the case to reveal its contents. "Darts? Uh, mom? I don't know the first thing about even how to throw these things, let alone how they could help me at U.A..."__

 _ _Chuckling softly to herself, her mother nodded. "Yes dear, I know. That's why that's only a part of y our present this year." Rising from her seat, the elder Jirou strode across the living room, motioning her daughter to follow.__

 _ _As she made her way across the room, Kyouka saw her mother take of her jacks and reach to the far wall, where a dart board hung, plucking the three darts from the board quickly before bringing them back and dropping them in her hand. "Something I found out after a while of messing around with my quirk? I can grasp small objects with my jacks and throw them, usually considerably faster than my hands can. So, I figure you can do the same. And I'm gonna teach you how." With a sly smirk, Mika took a dart up in her jack, coiling it around just below the plug. Suddenly, the dart blurred as she began spinning the dart in her jack before flinging it at the board, sticking it in the bullseye.__

 _ _Looking at her mother, wide-eyed and filled with wonder, she balked at her mother's bullseye. "That's awesome, mom!" From the couch, Kyotoku grumbled. "Yeah. It sure is, Kyo; she used that move of hers to trick me into paying for our first five dates, too! Sly woman..."__

 _ _Mika scoffed and looked to her daughter. "Dear, while this trick of mine can certainly be used to impress your boyfriend-" "Or girlfriend! We won't judge you either way, Kyo!" Her father's second interruption caught her completely off guard. "Dad! I like guys!" He was clearly having none of it, quipping back, "And I only like pretty women like you and your mother, but I wouldn't have minded a few escapades with a few awfully of the handsome men from my day.__

 ** **That**** __was one thought she did NOT need. "Ewww! DAD! What the hell! I don't need to hear about your fantasies!" Kyouka cringed so hard she felt as though her face was going to implode on itself at her father's comment.__

 _ _"Kyouka! Language!" Mika quickly scolded her daughter for her sudden outburst, as the three Jirous calmed themselves down. Finally relenting, her father sat up and turned back to face his daughter. "I'm just telling you dear, that don't expect anything when it comes to true love. The 'man of your dreams'? He may not even be a 'he' in the first place at all!" With a short sigh, he relaxed himself back into his seat and resumed watching TV. After a few moments, Mika spoke up again. "Anyway, dear, as I was saying... While this little trick that I made can be used to impress a 'date', you can also use this as a self defense tactic, as well... Take any long, thin object... Say, a chopstick, and you can grasp it with your jack. Spin it fast enough, and you can turn it into a dangerous projectile to ward off enemies."__

 _ _"Trust me dear, you're going to want little support objects lkke this to help improve the usefulness of your quirk, especially if you go pro as a hero." Kyouka pondered that for a moment before nodding. "I get it. Just because my quirk is sound based doesn't mean i should limit myself to only using my quirk for sound related tasks." With a smile, Mika nodded as she reached over to the dart board, plucking it off the wall and handing it to her daughter. "Exactly, dear. Now here, go practice. And again, Happy Birthday."__

Kyouka had spent the last six months practicing daily to improve the move her mother showed her. Pulling herself from her memory, Kyouka continued looking over her costume, spotting the chopsticks she had holstered on her biceps. While they weren't perfect, she felt as though they would suffice for the entrance exam .

Taking a few deep breaths, she looked around to the other participants. A part of her wondered if the muttering broccoli boy from earlier was in her group. All at once, though, Present Mic' s voice blared out over the area.

"The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said... 'True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life.' Plus Ultra! Break a leg, everyone!"

Kyouka cocked her head to the side some at his words, looking around to see many others just as confused and Kyouka almost swore she saw Present Mic face fault.

After a short moment of pause, he hollered out to the students once again. "Well?! What are you waiting for?! There's no countdown in a real fight! GO GO GO!"

By the time he had finished his second sentence, Kyouka had already gotten the idea, and had darted off ahead. She knew she wasn't a very fast runner, so she knew the sooner she got going, the better off she'd likely be.

The next minutes seemed to fly by for Kyouka. Between ducking among side streets, whipping her weapons and quirk around at the robots she came across, and doing her best to avoid any largely dangerous situations, she felt as though she had a sizable amount of points. She was obviously by no means keeping track; she was too focused on her main objective of getting as many robot 'kills' as she could. As it were, she had stopped in a side alley to catch her breath. She had already used up all of her darts and chopsticks, so the only means of offense she had left were her jacks alone.

Panting softly, Kyouka mentally counted up the robots she believed to have hit. In the midst of her counting, though, the ground rumbled heavily. At first, she couldn't help but believe it to be an earthquake, until a thunderous crash knocked her to her knees.

Crawling toward the street where the rage of activity came from, Kyouka was introduced to a harrowing sight. A robot, easily taller than most of the buildings in the city and as wide as the street she had come into, was rumbling its way down the street toward a large mass of prospective students. Most of them, she had seen, were screaming in terror and running away.

One person, she noticed though, was not. Narrowing her eyes, she had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing right.

'That broccoli head ****again****?'

The green haired bout in question was on his rear in the middle of the street, having clearly fallen, and was starting at the behemoth that was towering over the students. As she watched him, though, she saw his gaze drop to the robot's base. Following his line of sight, Kyouka turned to see a girl in the rubble of a fallen building.

Looking back to the boy, Kyouka watched him long enough to see him stumble up and into a ruin before doing so herself, sprinting toward the trapped girl

'Gotta get that rock off her, how?' Dashing toward the rubble, Kyouka looked around the brunette as she tried to figure out how she was going to free her. After a short moment, though, she mentally face-palmed and shot one of her jacks out into the rock. Wincing slightly at the sharp impact into the concrete chunk, Kyouka channeled her pounding heartbeat into her jack, forcing the rubble to crumble from the vibrations and free the girl.

Panting softly as she reached the newly-freed brunette, Kyouka helped the girl to her feet.

"Are you alright? What's your name?"

"I-Im fine but-!" Any further conversation between the two girls was cut short, as the horrendously loud sound of gnashing metal tore their attention from their current situation, only to see the large robot reeling back, a car-sized crater on its face.

A split second later, a strangled scream pierced the air, drawing Kyoukas attention immediately as she spotted **_**that same broccoli head**_** plummeting toward them and the ground.

Whipping back to the brunette before her, Kyouka reached out, clapping her hands on the girls shoulders as she leaned in and, in hindsight, spoke a bit too loudly and harshly to her. "That guy's not slowing down! He might be in trouble! We gotta help him!"

A small blush adorning her cheeks, the girl before her swallowed hard before touching her fingers of her hands together.

"Throw me to him." Kyouka looked at the girl incredulously.

"What are you, nuts? I can't lift you, let alone throw you that high!"

"My quirk lets me make things weightless, Now throw me! He's falling __fast!__ "

The adamant tone in her voice made Kyouka relent, nodding as the two of them stood. Linking her hands together, Kyouka knelt down as her accomplice stepped into her hands. With a sharp jerk upwards, the smaller brunette shot up toward to meet the falling boy only five meters above Kyouka' s head, where she wrapped him in a bear hug and stopped his descent. With the two of them floating above her, Kyouka held her arms out and braced herself.

"Drop down! I'll catch you!"

All as once, her companion released her quirk's hold on herself and the green haired boy, dropping the two of them into Kyouka's arms. The force of their sudden added weight threw the three of them to the ground in a heap, leaving her groaning underneath the two of them.

Kyouka slowly sat up while the girl she had saved earlier was crawling off of her, As green as the hair of the boy they had just caught.

"Y'know, broccoli, much more and I'm gonna have to start a tab for you... That's twice today I've kept you from falling..." she grumbled as the gravity girl upheaved the contents of her stomach into a pile of rubble nearby.

"I-if I can just get one point..." he gasped out, reaching out with what Kyouka now realized was his only good hand, placing it on her forearm.

Looking down to the boy who now resided in her lap, she noticed the reason for his falling; he had broken both of his legs and one arm, evident by grotesquely odd angles at which said limbs had been bent.

'Wait... did he say "one point"? He doesn't have any points?! Why did he attack that zero pointer like that, then?!'Before Kyouka could even form another thought, though, Present Mic's voice boomed out overhead.

 **"AAND TIME'S UP!"**

* * *

Uhh... 'Sup... I know, I know... it's been almost four months... But between college (which is thankfully done), work (which has been crazy busy but oh-so-worth it...) and personal stuff (it'll never end...), I've been stupid busy. And I do wanna apologize for how short this is... But I don't think it's too bad... I will do my very best though, to have the next chapter out in a few weeks, promise!

Oh! One other thing! The results for the poll for Izuku's next Holi-Date! With 25 votes, the winner is... *drumroll* Halloween! *cheers* Anyway, I'll be working on that here eventually as well! So stay tuned!

Uhh either way... Review?


	4. Equinox

Equinox

* * *

Sprawled out across her bed with her bass in her lap, Kyouka plucked away at it numbly, trying to stave away her worries. It had been nearly three weeks since her entrance exam for UA, with still no word from the school about her acceptance or, the main cause for her worries, her rejection. Thinking back on the exam, she couldn't help but feel as though her performance during it was... Subpar, to say the least.

"Kyouka, dear! You have some mail here for you! I think it might be your letter from UA!" That certainly caught her attention. Kyouka was quick to react, moving her bass to the bed beside her before bounding out of her room and darting downstairs. Her mother sat at the coffee table in the living room, a large, white envelope in hand.

Waving the envelope with a gentle, teasing smile on her face, Mika patted the spot on the couch next to her. "How about we open it together, hm dear? What do you say?" With a quick nod, Kyouka swiped the parcel from her mother's grasp, tearing it open. In her haste, however, she was unaware of its contents; the small, round device contained within bounced harmlessly into her lap. Pausing a beat, Kyouka reached down and placed the device onto the table, where it began to play its message.

Immediately upon starting up, All Might's muscular body came into view, a yellow business suit clad appearing to be at risk of bursting from his body's volume.

 ** _"Young Miss Jirou! Greetings! It is I, All Might! I have for you, here in my hand, your results of your entrance exam to the prestigious UA Hero School!"_**

Producing a slip of paper in his left hand, Hologram-All Might continued. **_"On your written exam, you achieved score of thirty-five! A solid overall score! Well Done!"_** A bright smile and an enthusiastic thumbs up later, he read on. **_"On your practical exam, however, you received only thirty-two villain points! Under normal circumstances, this would imply that you would have failed your entrance exam."_**

Kyouka's heart dropped into her stomach as smile quickly faded. She faintly heard her mother's gasp from beside her as the holo-message continued, where clips of her entrance exam had begun to play in a small screen near All Might's head; this made Kyouka tilt her head in confusion.

 ** _"HOWEVER! Your circumstances, dear Miss Jirou, were FAR from normal! Due to your quick thinking fervently heroic actions which assisted in the rescuing of two of your fellow classmates, the board has decided to award you with rescue points! For your quick response and freeing of one Ochako Uraraka and your assisted saving of one Izuku Midoriya, you have been awarded forty-five rescue points! Thus, your total points score is now brought up to seventy-seven points! Second place! CONGRATULATIONS! You've passed! Welcome, young Miss Jirou, to UA! Your Hero Academia!"_**

Kyouka's jaw dropped as she went wide-eyed.

 _'Second place?! What?!'_

As her mind reeled at the shock of her placement, All Might had threw his arms up in a congratulatory manner before holding up a large hand, pointing up with a single finger.

 ** _"But! I'm sure you're wondering! What became of those two students you assisted during your exam?"_**

 _'Well yeah, that's a given... They've been on my mind since the exam, too...'_

Kyouka couldn't help but feel a bit offended that the number one hero thought she wouldn't think pf the others in the exam.

 ** _"Well, you should be excited to know that both of them passed as well!"_** A small screen appeared next to All Might, showing a clip of Ochako, the brunette Kyouka remembered from the exam, approaching UA's officials after the exam And offering to give 'the plain-looking, green-haired boy some of her points. She couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that she never did manage to get the girl's name. **_"Thanks to her assistance in saving a fellow student, as well as offering up assistance to a student in need afterwards, Ochako Uraraka, twenty-eight villain points, forty rescue points! Sixth place!"_**

Suddenly the screen next to All Might switched, now showing a very familiar 'plain-looking green-haired boy' charging headlong at the zero-pointer.

 ** _'_** _That guy?!'_

 ** _"Due to his selfless -albeit reckless- wholehearted rush to save fellow students from a nearly immovable obstacle, Izuku Midoriya, zero villain points, sixty rescue points! Seventh place!"_**

Now, All Might's image was replaced with that of a scoreboard, showing the top ten scorers on the practica portion of the exam. She gotten second place alright, but when she looked closer she couldn't believe her eyes. She actually had tied with the number one placed student, who had gotten 77 points just in villain points.

 _'That Bakugou kid must be crazy strong...'_

 ** _"Once again, young Miss Jirou, I must say: Welcome to Your Hero Academia, and we look forward to seeing you at UA in the coming month!"_**

With that, the message terminated, and an awestruck silence filled the living room.

"I made it! Booyah! Whoohoo!"

Bounding up from the couch, Kyouka whooped and fist pumped the air as she danced around in celebration.

"Great job, Kyo. I knew you could do it."

At the sound of her father's voice, she turned to see him leaning over the kitchen counter; she ran over to him, tackling her typically-jovial father as he rounded the corner to the living room. Starting a bit, her father slowly wrapped his arms around his overly-excited daughter, patting her back.

"You did good, Kyo." As she released him, though, Kyouka felt a heavy fabric fall on her shoulders. Looking down, she saw her dad had set a leather jacket on her shoulders. When she looked to him, confused, he smiled and spoke again, "Knock 'em dead, my little Muse."

With a wide grin and shining eyes, Kyouka gave a sharp nod.

"Uh huh!"


End file.
